Basesvinegar, Acids and Bases--Alien, Radiation, Rate of Cooling, Heat, Temperature, Rosion and Pollution
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 398 056 SE 058 395 AUTHOR Stecher, Brian M.; Klein, Stephen P. TITLE Performance Assessments in Science: Hands-On Tasks and Scoring Guides. INSTITUTION Rand Corp., Santa Monica, CA. Inst. on Education and Training. SPONS AGENCY National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8330-2367-5 PUB DATE 96 CONTRACT MDR-9154406 NOTE 414p. AVAILABLE FROMRAND, P.O. Box 2138, 1700 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138. PUB TYPE Tests/Evaluation Instruments (160) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC17 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Chemical Reactions, Classification; Elementary Secondary Education; *Hands on Science; Heat; Mechanics (Physics); *Science Tests ABSTRACT In 1992, RAND received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the technical quality of performance assessments in science and to evaluate their fPasibility for use.in large-scale testing programs. The specific goals of the project were to assess the reliability and validity of hands-on science testing and to investigate the cost and practicality of these types of measures for large-scale assessment. The purpose of this monograph is to make the science tasks and scoring guides developed as part of the project available to other researchers and educational practitioners. This collection of measures is designed to provide researchers with a basic set of tasks they can build upon when studying student performance in science and investigating alternative approaches to science assessment. For this reason, information is reported about the conditions under which the tasks were administered and the reliability of the scoring guides (inter-reader correlations). The tasks should also be useful to practitioners in their discussions about measuring student performance in science, the types of activities that may be used in future state and national assessment systems, and the changes that need to take place in staff development. The document contains a complete description of each task used in the study, including the shell (or testing blueprint) from which the task was developed and copies or photos of the task booklet, the materials or apparatus that accompanied the task, the scoring guide, and the form used to record scores. The task topics studied include incline, force, friction, pendulum, lever, classification of animals, classification of materials, acids and basesvinegar, acids and bases--alien, radiation, rate of cooling, heat, temperature, rosion and pollution. Contains nine tables and nine references. (Author/MVL) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HBEEI GRANT D BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCA NON Othce or EducatenalRematch and Imgoovement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION koCENTER (ERIC) Tffisdocumentha$been reproduced as received horn the person L.organization Performance Assessments iginating it 0Minor changes have been made to improve reproduchon Quality in Science 1,0mM s 01 ymyr Or Ors.nionS stated In this clot tr ment do not necessarily represent official OEM posnion or policy Hands-On Tasks and Scoring Guides Edited by Br'an M. Stecher, Stephen P. Klein Institute on Education and Training <:` 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE The work described in this report was supported by the National Science Foun- dation under Grant MDR-9154406. ISBN: 0-8330-2367-5 © Copyright 1996 RAND All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in wrifing from RAND. RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve public policy through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of its research sponsors. Published 1996 by RAND 1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Internet: [email protected] 3 Performance Assessments in Science Hands-On Tasks and Scoring Guides Edited by Brian M. Stecher, Stephen P. Klein Supported by the National Science Foundation institute on Education and Training -£ Preface In 1992, RAND received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the technical quality of performance assessments in science and to evaluate their feasibility for use in large-scale testing programs. The specific goals of the project were to assess the reliability and validity of hands-on science testing and to investigate the cost and practicality of these types of measures for large-scale assessment. RAND collaborated with researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara; Stanford University; the Far West Laboratory; and the California State Department of Education to develop and admiaister several science exercises to students in elementary, middle, and high schools in 1993 and 1994. Findings regarding the development, quality, and feasibility of hands-on science assessments have been reported in a number of papers and journal articles (see References). The purpose of this monograph is to make the science tasks and scoring guides developed as part of the project available to other researchers and educational practitioners. This collection of measures should provide researchers with a basic set of tasks they can build upon when studying student performance in science and investigating alternative approaches to science assessment. For this reason, we report information about the conditions under which the tasks were administered and the reliability of the scoring guides (inter-reader correlations). The tasks should also be useful to practitioners in their discussions about measuzing student performance in science, the types of activities that may be used in future state and national assessment systems, and the changes that need to take place in staff development. This document contains a complete description of each task used in the study, including the shell (or testing blueprint) from which the task was developed and copies or photos of the task booklet, the materials or apparatus that accompanied the task, the scoring guide, and the form those who scored the tests used to record scores. We anticipate that this information will allow the interested reader to reproduce all the tasks used in the project. rk.) Contents Preface iii Figures vii Tables ix Acknowledgments xi 1.INTRODUCTION 1 2.lNCLINE 9 3.FRICTION 38 4. PENDULUM 61 5.LEVER 76 6.CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS 90 7.CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIALS 109 8.ACIDS AND BASESVINEGAR 141 9.ACIDS AND BASESALIEN 185 10. RADIATION 777 11. RATE OF COOLING 258 12. CLASGRADE 5 288 13. CLASGRADE 10 330 Appendix: STUDENT AND TEACHER SURVEYS 361 References 371 vii Figures 1.Equipmentfor Incline 16 2.Equipmentfor Friction 39 3.Equipmentfor Pendulum 63 4.Equipmentfor Pendulum (Close Up) 64 5.Equipmentfor Lever 77 6.Equipmentfor Classification of Animals (Tuning Task) 92 7.Equipmentfor Classification of Animals 93 8.Equipmentfor Classification of Materials (Tuning Task) 110 9.Equipmentfor Classification of Materials 111 10.Equipmentfor Acids and BasesVinegar 145 11.Equipmentfor Acids and BasesAlien 186 12.Equipmentfor Radiation 227 13.Equipmentfor Rate of Cooling 259 14.Equipmentfor CLAS Grade 5Rocks 289 15.Equipmentfor CLAS Grade 5Roads 290 16.Equipmentfor CLAS Grade 5Critters 291 17.Equipmentfor CLAS Grade 10Animals 331 18.Equipmentfor CLAS Grade 10Hot Rocks 332 19.Equipmentfor CLAS Grade 10Erosion 333 Ii ix Tables 1.Shells and Tasks 3 2.Administrative History 6 3.Inter-Reader Correlations by Task and Grade Level 7 4.Planning and Design Item Shell 10 5.Performance Item Shell 12 6.Analysis and Interpretation Item Shell 13 7.Application Item Shell 14 S.Performing and Interpreting Item Shell: Comparative Experiment 142 9.Application Item Shell: Comparative Experiment 144 8 xi Acknowledgments The following individuals contributed to the development of the tasks, materials, and scoring guides presented here. In effect, they are the authors of this report. From RAND: Stephen P. Klein, who was the principal investigator; Brian M. Stecher; Bryan Hallmark; Hilary Saner; Abby Robyn; Eric Hamilton; and Allen Ruby. From the University of California, Santa Barbara: Richard Shavelson, director; Guillermo Solano-Flores; Gail Baxter; and jasna Jovanovich. From Stanford University: Edward H. Haertel, director; Laura Hamilton; Carrie Jones; E. Michael Nussbaum; and Jerome M. Shaw. From the Far West Laboratory: Steven Schneider, director; Justine Reese; and Mary Pat O'Connell. From the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS): Kathleen Comfort, director; Paul Michaelson; Michael Trulson; Jody McCarthy; and members of the CLAS Science Assessment Advisory Committee and Science Assessment Development Teams. In addition, we want to thank Robert Bell and Daniel McCaffrey, from RAND, for their contribution to the design of the scoring system, and Jim Chiesa, Gail Yeaple, and Judy Wood for help in producing this complex document. 1 1. Introduction Recent reforms of science and mathematics curricula emphasize problem-solving and conceptual understanding rather than knowledge of facts and formulas. Many educators argue for a corresponding change in testing.